In Wummera, a dusty desert town in South Australia, scientists are getting ready. On December 6, 2020, after six years in space, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Haibusa 2 spacecraft will finally return to Earth. It carries with it a surprisingly rare, precious and hard-won cargo – the planet collects …
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If you have ever studied any chemistry or biological studies, there is a very good chance that you will be able to present a general picture of what is thought to be a chromosome. Millions of high-schoolers and undergraduates will be convinced that it is a tall, narrow X-shape – …
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The Milky Way has merged with many other galaxies in its long lifespan, but stealing its history together has been a loving act. A new analysis of galactic clusters around the galaxy has now given us the most complete galactic merger history ever. And that data includes a previously unknown …
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One of the many problems we have with the spread of COVID-19 is the ability of the coronavirus to survive on the surface for hours at a time. When we can effectively clean hard materials or sterilize them with alcohol, what about more delicate surfaces like cardboard? Even in the …
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There is no walk in the park a year in space. Ask American astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a year on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015. Her DNA, telomeres, and gut microbiome were altered by her long stay in space, she lost bone density, and still had pain …
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